BENGALURU: If authorities continue to neglect the Government Tamil Higher Primary School at Ashoknagar, which is one of the oldest buildings in Bengaluru, it could be done and dusted soon. Recently, a few students studying at the school were shifted to another nearby institution, leaving the premises empty.
Sources said the powerful real estate lobby would scuttle a proposal by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), which has come forward to restore the building without any cost to the government. But there has been no progress from the government side.
The school, close to Garuda Mall, was constructed in 1930 and is built in colonial style. It had a good number of students, but now it has only nine with one teacher. The school sits on a prime 15,500 sqft of land, whose value runs into crores.
TNIE published a report “Tech City has no electricity to give this government school’’ on November 27, highlighting how the school has been running without power for the last seven years. Now, instead of making arrangements to restore power supply to the school, the Department of Public Instruction has shifted students to another school. Department Commissioner Dr R Vishal said they took the consent of parents before shifting the pupils.
Intach recently restored Fort High School in Chamarajpete, which was started in 1903. It had approached the Department of Primary and Higher education to take up the restoration of Ashoknagar school too. It had submitted a detailed project report with an estimation of Rs 27 lakh. The Rotary Club had come forward to get it done through CSR funds, but nothing moved from the government side, sources said.
Shanthinagar MLA NA Haris, under whose constituency the school falls, said the institution has fewer students. On it being a heritage building, he said, “Nobody approached me. If anyone comes to me, I will write to the state government and restore it.”
Education Minister BC Nagesh said they are busy with MLC polls. “I will visit the school after December 10. We will restore the structure and hand it over to either run the school or to the education department,’’ he said.